Williams-McDowell Stiff Delawareans

The News Journal ran a story today about the Joint Finance Committee’s vote for a State Employee pay raise. Several members of the committee did not support the move. Budget Committee Chair and presumptive Wilmington Mayor, Dennis Williams, was the key mover to spending this money and chastised the opponents:

Williams defended the pay raise and challenged Miro and Briggs-King to do more for low-wage [state] workers if that’s what they think is necessary.

Rep. Williams seems to forget who is paying for the pay raise. How about the 30,000 unemployed Delawareans? When the unemployed go to the store, they are paying the gross receipts tax (even when using food stamps). When they make a phone call, they are paying a telecommunications tax. When they pay their power bill, they pay a public utilities tax. The same can be said about the tens of thousands of under-employed Delawareans. — Adding this revenue bite to Delawareans during this economy is extremely poor policy — especially for those that live in the city that Rep. Williams would like to lead as mayor.

Given his actions today, are we to expect that Rep. Williams is going to run Wilmington in a fiscally responsible manner? To quote Bugs Bunny… “What a maroon.”